Gaiden
by EnigMAL
Summary: AU. Stories from the pasts of some of the world's strongest ninja affect the future of the next generation.
1. Itachi

These Gaidens take place before the _Ierokitsune_. Pay extremely close attention to these stories because there are plenty of hints to find for the next installment of the series, _Rosuto_. I WILL not make the hints obvious to you; I will only explain my original jutsu and characters.

* * *

_**This Gaiden takes place six years before the beginning of **_**Ierokitsune**_**.**_

* * *

The black flames swirled around my injured form. I had never felt anything as blisteringly hot as this, and yet, the heat felt strangely familiar, almost as if I had felt it before. I could only look at his silhouetted form through my swollen eyes as his shadow cast itself over me. I succumbed to the sweet melody that the siren named sleep sung to me, wondering where in the hell he got those eyes.

Where in the hell did he get my eyes?

* * *

_4 Days Ago_

* * *

_It was a normal morning. I awoke as the sun groggily arose over the Hokage Mountains. I prayed to Izanagi, the god of life, and Amaterasu, goddess of the sun, like the priests taught me as a boy [__**1**__]. I swear to this day, I hear them speaking to me, guiding me through life and protecting me from harm._

_After my prayers, I jog around the village. I prefer to jog at this time of the morning as opposed to later on because the usually crowded streets of Konoha are unnaturally still. Save for a few ANBU patrolling the streets in disguise, there is nary a human soul around._

_I then shower, prepare some herbal tea, and talk to Kaa-san as she makes breakfast for our family. Ever since I became a Chuunin, I've lost the time to appreciate these small moments; Kaa-san is filled with all kinds of wisdom and interesting stories from her youth._

_Normally, we have a small breakfast before Tou-san heads out to the Keimu Butai (_Military Police Force_) offices and handled his duties as the police head. But this morning was a little different from all the other mornings we had this year._

_Sasuke-kun, my little brother, entered in the kitchen, the aroma of slumber fresh on him. He clumsily sat at the table and mumbled his greetings before Tou-san entered the room._

_My father was my hero, and I think in some ways, I was his. He was the first Uchiha to become a Jonin since the establishment of the ninja hierarchy. I might not have been a Jonin, but I was the only Uchiha to be allowed admission into the prestigious Ansastu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai (_Special Assassination and Tactical Squad_), or the ANBU, as their known to most people._

_And that's what makes this morning so special; I was to embark on my first mission as an ANBU Black Operative. And it was also my twelfth birthday._

"_Itachi, my boy!" Tou-san shouted jovially before pulling me into a big hug. "You're going to write history today! The first Uchiha to ever be in on a Black Ops mission. I'm so proud!"_

_Sasuke perked up by now and asked, "So what mission are you going on? I bet you're gonna hunt down some big shot criminal, like an S-Rank nuke-nin!"_

"_Sasuke, be quiet!" shouted my father. The air became tense as Sasuke slumped back into his chair. "Black Ops mission are never to be talked about!"_

_Hoping to defuse my father's explosive anger, I said to my younger brother, "Tou-san is right. Besides, I don't even know what mission I'm going to get yet."_

_We then ate our meal in silence, slipping back into the normal rituals of our morning._

* * *

_I entered the Yondaime's office, in full ANBU dress. Two men and a woman sat in front of the Hokage's desk; the Yondaime stared out of the window, his back toward us. I quickly appraised my teammates. Per rules, whenever we met to discuss missions with the Hokage, we obscured our faces with our battle masks._

_The first person I noticed was the girl. She had long purple hair that flowed to the upper part of her buttocks; her skin was a creamy peach color; her face was obscured by her Neko mask. She was kind of thin, which was rather unusual for a combat trained Black Op._

_Sitting on either side of her was a relatively tall man with short, messy, brown hair, and a shorter man with spiky, light hair. The taller man was the more muscular of the two, but the shorter man seemed to be more disciplined._

"_Please take your seat, operative," the Yondaime said. "I have called you all here because I am sending you on a reconnaissance mission to Mizu no Kuni, specifically Kirigakure no Sato. It has come to my attention that the Sandaime Mizukage has either died or been ousted, and a new Mizukage has been appointed. Normally, this would be of no major concern to me, and I would just wait for Kiri to send out an official proclamation of such, but the rumor is that a nuke-nin by the name of Ebi Yagura has taken control."_

_The brunette man raised his hand and asked, "Isn't he wanted in all five of the Great Nations for war crimes he committed during the last war?"_

_The Yondaime nodded. "The problem is that if the Daimyo or the Water Lord gave Ebi-san their consent, he becomes untouchable. The slightest attack against him would bring about a Fourth Ninja War, and the peace in these times is very fragile."_

_The girl raised her hand and asked, "I understand why it's bad that a nuke-nin gained control of one of the Five Great Nations, but wouldn't us spying on him cause an international incident as well?"_

"_That is true," responded the Yondaime. "But Ebi-san and I have history. It is because of me and my squad that half of the Kiri Shinobigatana Nananin Shu (_Seven Swordsmen of the Mist_) is dead, Ebi-san being the leader of the group. No doubt I would be the first person he would come after."_

"_But Kiri was affected the most by the war," stated the shorter-nin. "They lost about 40% of their troops and half of what remained was severely injured. They wouldn't be able to stand up to even a smaller nation at this point."_

"_I have reason to believe Kiri is being brought from the brink of financial and political ruin by an organization called Akatsuki. Sadly, I couldn't receive any other information about them, other than the previous Mizukages had supported them during their reign._

"_In any case, your mission is to observe what's going on in Kirigakure no Sato. Discover if there is any validity in this fact. Under no circumstances are you to initiate any kid of battle with anyone in Mizu no Kuni; get the information and get out. Do you understand?"_

"_Hai!" we shouted enthusiastically._

* * *

_We travelled to Kaikou-shi (_Port City_), a journey which took about three or four days. During the mission, it became evident to me that the tall brunette man was our leader. On the last day of our journey, when Kaikou-shi came into view on the horizon, he stopped us in the woods and sat us down around the fire._

"_Now that we're almost at Kaikou-shi, I think it's time we take these masks off and get to know each other a little better." To make it more comfortable for us, he took his mask off first. His black eyes were large, but there was more white than black. He wasn't what most women in the village would consider attractive, but he had a likeable quality about him. "My name is Tenzo. I am 17-years-old. I love walnuts, and I actually have some architectural talent. This is the first time I've lead a Black Ops mission."_

_The rest of us slowly took our masks off and the shorter man was next to speak. He had pure white eyes, and it was easy for me to notice that he was a Hyuuga. "My name is Hyuuga Ko. I'm 15. I love to watch comedy movies, and I can play the guitar, drums, and bass. I was just recently promoted to Chuunin."_

_I decided to go next. "My name is Uchiha Itachi. I'm 12. I like tea, cabbage, and seaweed onigiri. This is my first Black Op mission."_

"_Got a youngin' with us," remarked Tenzo, much to my chagrin._

_The girl spoke next. She had dark, black eyes that seemed to carry no emotion. "My name is Uzuki Yugao. I'm 16. I'd rather keep my thoughts to myself."_

_Tenzo sniggered and said to Ko and me, "She's got a crush on Masurao Chuuko. He's the only guy in the village that can get an emotion from her!"_

_Yugao growled and punched Tenzo in the head. "I FUCKING HATE WORKING WITH YOU!" she roared._

"_You two know each other?" I asked confusedly._

"_Unfortunately," grumbled Yugao. "We used to serve on an assassination squad with other ANBU, but it was disbanded recently. I wasn't entirely sure it was you until now. Our training keeps us from recognizing each other's chakras, and our masks distort our voices."_

_Tenzo slowly sat up and rubbed his head before pulling four scrolls. "In these scrolls are regular civilian clothing. Because of how tense things are between Kiri and Konoha, we have to pretend we are immigrants from the Umi no Kuni when we enter Mizu. That's what our cover story is."_

_We all nodded as we summoned the clothes and began to pack them into traveler's bags. We changed into one of the outfits and sealed our ANBU outfits away into one plain-looking, writing scroll to avoid detection._

"_We'll sleep here and then catch a boat to Nagi Island," stated Tenzo as he unrolled his sleeping bag. "From there, we'll enter Kiri. For now, it's time to sleep. Night night."_

_And just like that, Tenzo was asleep._

* * *

_The next two days were pretty boring. We got into the port with fake passports and a nice little story. Tenzo and Yugao were newlyweds that were honeymooning in Hi when the war broke out. Now that the war was over, they could return to their home, Kiri, and be reunited with their families. Ko used a henge to appear to be an old, blind man. Our story was that we (my "grandfather" and I) were heading to Mizu to get jobs at one of the tea plantations there._

_The boat ride was crowded and very rocky. Much to my surprise, Yugao, who I had pegged to be a tough girl, was leaning over the edge of the boat, puking her life away._

"_Aw, it's ok baby!" Tenzo cooed as he gently rubbed Yugao's back. "We'll be at Nagi Island by sunset. Do you want me to get you anything for your tummy?"_

"_When we get off of this boat, I'm gonna fuck you up," mouthed Yugao._

"_I'll go get you some tea, my love!" shouted Tenzo, really milking this whole act._

_Just like Tenzo said, we arrived on the western coast of Nagi Island by sunset. We raced across the island so that we could catch the boat to Kiri. The ride was pretty much the same, except we took turns sleeping through the day and a half long voyage._

_We arrived at a Mizu port city several miles west of Kirigakure and decided to sleep in a cheap motel for the rest of the day. We traveled at night and arrived at Kiri's western gate just before sunrise._

"_We should split up," Tenzo suggested. "We each cover a cardinal direction and see what we can uncover. I'll take the north; Ko-kun will take the west; Yugao will take the east; and Itachi-kun, you take the south."_

"_Hai!" we quietly shouted before heading off to search for information._

* * *

_I had combed the entire southern half of Kiri with little to no success. I didn't think I would find anything here; it seemed that Southern Kirigakure was nothing but slums and dilapidated buildings. It seemed like only the old, sick, and the homeless lived here. I saw elders with heavy wrinkles cut into their faces and lots of liver spots and freckles; other people of varying ages covered in sores, lesions, and bile; and people who seemed to be too dirty to ever be clean again. It made my heart sink to see these people suffering so._

_As I continued down the street, a group of five men (no older than 18 or 19, I presume) stopped me and surrounded me. They seemed to be some form of gang, and seeing as how I was a stranger, they were most likely about to rob me._

"'_Ey!" the oldest of the men shouted. "What do ya think yer doin' in our part o' town?"_

"_I became lost," I quietly replied. "I was only searching for the market. I'm new in town."_

_The leader began to chuckle and his cohorts followed. "Ya 'ere that mates! 'E's just a lost little puppy!_

"_Listen pal, you seem like a well-off guy; I would 'ate for one o' these wolves that live in these parts ta do somethin' to ya for a piece of change. How about you pay my boys an' I some…'protection fees' an' we'll make sure you get back to the east safely."_

_I inwardly growled, resigning myself to fact that I would have to use my Sharingan to manipulate these thick necks and possibly blow my cover. The leader suddenly became nervous and dropped to his knees._

"_What's going on here?"_

_I turned around to see a feeble old man leaning on a polished, wooden cane. He had shoulder-length, spiky black hair; a long, pale face; and a thin body covered by rich, black robes._

"_N-N-Nothin' Shodaime-sama!" the leader shouted. By now, his goons had dropped to the ground, bowing so far that their faces touched the ground._

'How the hell is the Shodaime still alive?_' I quietly thought to myself as I decided to see how this would play out._

"_Doesn't seem like nothing," observed the Mizukage. He pointed at the men and in seconds, they all burst into orange flames. "The punishment for any crime committed in Kirigakure no Sato is death, regardless of what crime has been committed," he shouted to the bystanders. They all began to run into their broken down homes, in fear that their very presence would elicit the rage of this old Kage. Turning to me as I watched with shock as the goons writhed on the floor and screamed in agony, he asked, "Are you ok, my boy?"_

_I nodded, never taking my eyes off of the now dead men around me. "H-How did you do that?" I murmured._

_The old man gave me a wheezy chuckle before answering, "The ninja of Kirigakure are capable of many great things._

"_I've never seen you around these parts before. Are you from one of the Island Colonies?"_

_Trying to regain my composure, I quickly replied, "Uh, yes. Nagi Island to be specific. My name is Abe."_

_The old man looked at me and then said, "Nice to meet you Abe. I'm Tobi." He paused for a minute and then said, "Tell you what. How about I invite you to my house for a nice home cooked meal? You must be famished from your long journey."_

"_That would be wonderful," I quickly said. I knew I had to go; this was my only chance to find the information we so desperately needed._

* * *

"_Slow down, squirt," quipped Tenzo as I frantically relayed the story to him. "Are you trying to tell me that the Shodaime Mizukage is alive, he set five guys on fire just by pointing at them, and he invited you to dinner?"_

"_This has 'trap' written all over it," grunted Yugao._

"_It might be a trap, but what if I can discover something important about Yagura-san?" I shouted back. "Tenzo-taichou, you have to let me go!"_

"_I agree with Itachi-kun," Ko added. "We can be close by for back-up if need be."_

"_You do realize that if this guy is really the Shodaime Mizukage, he'll have enough power, even in his feeble state to destroy us before we could even touch him, right?" Yugao bluntly stated._

"_It's a risk we have to take," Tenzo finally said. "We'll be on standby to extract Itachi and get the hell out of dodge. I'll have an escape plan ready for us." Tenzo turned to me and asked, "Do you think you can handle a task of this magnitude?"_

_I didn't hesitate to say, "I'm ready."_

* * *

_I walked up to an opulent mansion on the northern side of town. It was actually kind of creepy; the building was made of obsidian and had a Gothic architectural feel to it. Several leafless trees surrounded the estate. As I walked up to the front gates, they slowly opened with a high whine, only magnifying the creepiness._

_I reached the front door, which also opened on its own accord. With a bit of trepidation, I entered the house, praying to Izanagi that my comrades would be able to get us out of here if things went south._

Welcome to my humble abode. Follow the hallway to the dining room. I await your presence.

_Well, that wasn't creepy at all. I followed the Shodaime Mizukage's instruction and sure enough came up to two massive mahogany wood doors. I pushed them open slowly and sure enough, Tobi-san sat at the end of a long table. The spread on said table was more mouthwatering then anything I had ever seen in my life, even better than the feasts my clan had for holidays._

"_You seem hungry, Abe-kun," Tobi-san said, motioning for me to sit down. "I'm sure you are; you must not have eaten a lot of good food on during your journey."_

_I scooped some cabbage and fish onto an empty china dish in front of me and tentatively put a small bit of cabbage into my mouth. I made a small hand seal under the table to use Suiton: Doku no Dizorubu (_Water Release: Dissolving Poison_)[__**2**__]. Tobi smiled to himself._

"_You don't have to use jutsu to see if I've poisoned you," Tobi remarked as he ingested a spoonful of calamari. "And to answer your next question, no I have not poisoned you."_

_True to his word, my jutsu didn't detect any poison. I nervously swallowed my food, hoping that my squad was preparing to break me out of here. "H-H-How did you know?"_

"_I'm a master of predicting the future," answered Tobi. "By the way, your comrades should be dead right about…now."_

_Sure enough, multiple explosions went off at the same time. I ran to the nearest window to see fire spreading in the areas Tenzo, Ko, and Yugao were stationed. I spun around only to have Tobi's hand placed upon my throat. He began to squeeze the life out of me. I activated my Sharingan, hoping vainly to use Genjutsu on him to free myself and escape. I looked Tobi-sama in the eye and received the shock of my life._

_He too had the Sharingan!_

"_Kamui (_Might of the Gods_)!"_

_Reality began to spin until nothing remained but bleakness. The bleakness then began to spin until a mountain began to come into view. A mist thicker than any I had ever seen settled around us as Tobi flung me a few meters away from me._

"_You're a disgrace to the Uchiha race, just like that weak father of yours!" he shouted at me as he slammed his foot into my chest, cracking my sternum._

"_What do you *cough* mean? You know my *cough* father?" I weakly asked as Tobi kicked me in the head._

"_Of course I know Fugaku!" laughed Tobi as he kneeled over me. "If it wasn't for him, my associates and I never would have crushed Konoha all those years ago when we controlled the Kyuubi no Kitsune! I told him that if we succeeded, I'd give him the Mangekyou Sharingan without the nasty down payment it requires." My head was spinning as I tried to let this information sink in. My dad was a traitor, and now there's this Mangekyou Sharingan. I never felt more confused in my life. Tobi saw the confused look on my face and punched me in my nose, breaking it._

"_You don't deserve those eyes, boy!" Tobi shouted as he pulled my head up. "The Mangekyou grants a Uchiha all of the Sharingan's power! It doesn't come without sacrifice; in order to unlock it, your most valued relationship must be severed for all eternity. Your father valued your life more than any life he had ever come across, but he was too weak to kill you for the power he so desperately lusted for. So he sought me out, hoping for a shortcut to absolute power. And do you want to know the best part about Fugaku's betrayal?" Not waiting for my response, he said, "He would have helped us burn it to the ground only for me to rip his new Mangekyou out right out of his skull!"_

_I was fading in and out as Tobi took one of my hidden kunai and slashed my face on either side of my nose, from just under my cornea to the upper corners of my mouth. "I can feel the power welling inside of you, Uchiha Itachi," Tobi said proudly as he stomped on my eyes, causing them to swell shut. "If you make it off of this mountain alive, use this to find me and I will show you power beyond your wildest dreams."_

_Tobi slipped a blank piece of paper into my kimono pocket__. As he kneeled downed to do such, I spat the senbon I kept hidden in my mouth at his left eye. The sickening sound of the needle passing through his iris pleased me, as did his roars of pain. I watched weakly as black flames began to materialize around us._

_The black flames swirled around my injured form. I had never felt anything as blisteringly hot as this, and yet, the heat felt strangely familiar, almost as if I had felt it before. I could only look at his silhouetted form through my swollen eyes as his shadow cast itself over me. I succumbed to the sweet melody that the siren named sleep sung to me, wondering where in the hell he got those eyes._

_Where in the hell did he get my eyes?_

* * *

"Finally awake, eh?"

My eyes slowly fluttered open, and then shut quickly to protect themselves from the blinding light. I attempted (more successfully) to open my eyes again. I was back in Konoha, the hospital to be more precise. In my room were Tenzo and Fugaku [_**3**_].

"I-I-I thought you were dead?" I weakly muttered, not looking at either men.

"We almost did kick the bucket, but Ko's Byakugan saved us. And you saved our mission."

"How?"

"Yugao and her cat summons were able to secure very important scrolls from the Shodaime Mizukage's house confirming the appointment of Ebi Yagura as the Yondaime Mizukage. It was a legal appointment, so there's nothing we can do about it."

"What happened to Tobi-sama?" I quickly asked as I began to remember the mission.

"You killed him," Tenzo said slowly, as if I was mentally retarded. "When we reached you guys, his body was covered in black flames. You almost were too. What technique was that, by the way?"

"The Amaterasu," Fugaku answered proudly. "It is one of the Uchiha Clan's greatest techniques; even I have yet to master it."

Tenzo nodded before saying, "I'll leave you two alone. I just wanted to tell Itachi-kun we completed the mission."

I watched Tenzo walk out with little interest. Fugaku walked over to me and tried to touch me, but I smacked his hand away. "I know all about your secret, Fugaku," I cryptically said.

The look of indignation on his face did not scare me at all. "Who do you think you're talking to?" Fugaku angrily barked at me.

"You, the traitor." Fugaku's entire face stiffened as I continued, "Tobi told me all about how you led them to the Kyuubi's lair and helped them destroy Konoha seven years ago."

"I did what I did for you," Fugaku weakly replied.

"Don't fucking lie to me!" I shouted. "You did this for you! Not me! I idolized you, and you turned out to be the biggest disgrace in our clan! How could you do this?"

Fear spread across Fugaku's face as his eyes never left mine. I glanced at a nearby mirror and was shocked to see my Sharingan had activated. What was so shocking was how it looked. Two black windmills had replaced my tomoe. I felt strength like never before as my father cowered in fear before my eyes.

"Is this what you betrayed the village for?" I said darkly as my new Mangekyou began spinning.

* * *

Inspiration for _Itachi Gaiden_: I gained the inspiration for this chapter from Sasuke's recounting of the events that led up to Itachi's betrayal during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Itachi began acting weird and his relationship with his father had been severely strained. I used this as a springboard to introduce how Itachi's defection began, and why Fugaku and Itachi were no longer on speaking terms.

* * *

1- I always imagined Itachi as a religious person (maybe because he's a pacifist).

2- Suiton: Doku no Dizorubu (Water Release: Dissolving Poison): The user mixes their chakras in with their saliva, creating a solution that would dissolve any poison in food.

3- Notice that Itachi refers to Fugaku by his name instead of Tou-san?

* * *

A/N: I will be alternating between Gaiden and Ierokitsune for the next few weeks so that hopefully by the end of July, I can begin with Rosuto. I've finally graduated from high school! So you know what that means: more updates! OH YEAH!


	2. Jiraiya

_**Princess of blah blah blah: **_Very correct. I'm doing quite a few ninja for this collection of one-shots but the one I'm most looking forward to writing is Minato and Kushina's story.

* * *

_**This Gaiden takes place about thirty-one years before the beginning of **_**Ierokitsune**_**.**_

* * *

"You've healed up pretty nicely. However, I'm guessing this near brush with death won't stop your peeping?"

A tall young man, probably no older than 20, zipped up his flak jacket. He had long, spiky white hair; dark brown eyes; and tan skin. He wore a standard Jonin uniform, save for the large scroll he now strapped to his back. The man was Namikaze Jiraiya, a Fuuinjutsu master.

"Three broken ribs, one shattered leg, several ruptured organs, and a broken nose: Tsunade earns the distinct honor of being the only ninja in existence to bring me close to death," Jiraiya quipped to his best friend, Toppyoushimonai Orochimaru. "But those boobs! Is it me or are they growing like a wrestler on steroids?"

Orochimaru chuckled as he and Jiraiya walked out of the makeshift hospital. They were surrounded by a ravaged land, the signs of war evident to even a blind man. The snake-nin said, "Well, welcome to the warfront. A lot has happened in the few months you've been on the injured reserve.

"Amegakure is trying to capitalize on the confusion of our raid on Suna by launching an invasion on Kawa no Kuni (_Land of Rivers_) and Tora no Kuni (_Land of Birds_). Now, Ame is full of nuke-nin who were smart enough to try and band together to accomplish their evil goals, but we finally learned who their leader is."

"Well, don't keep me in suspense. Who is it?"

Orochimaru stopped walking and darkly answered, "Sanshouuo no Hanzo."

Jiraiya stopped and Orochimaru felt a slight pulse of killing intent. "Are you sure?"

"Well, your spy buddies never failed us before."

Jiraiya shook his head and said, "This doesn't make sense. I've been looking for Hanzo for three years now, and he's been harder to track down than Hiruzen-sensei's sense of humor. Now all of a sudden, he magically reappears, and he's traced back to a position and hasn't moved from it yet? This screams of a set-up."

Orochimaru nodded and added, "We are the ones who take on missions no one else can or will do. We'll go in and kill Hanzo, set-up or not."

Jiraiya nodded before asking, "Where's Tsunade-hime?"

Orochimaru smirked and answered, "Well, the last time you were in a hospital, you flashed her and it took all the neurotoxins I possessed to slow her down enough for you to escape. I thought it would be best if she saw you fully-clothed." The pale man placed his hand on Jiraiya's shoulder and stated, "I know how much your brother meant to you, but I need to know that your head is in this."

Jiraiya growled before replying, "My head is focused solely on killing Hanzo. That's all that matters, right?"

Orochimaru nodded before the two vanished in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

"Took you long enough," Tsunade complained as the three ninja crossed the Ame-Kaze border. "We could have been there by now."

"Sorry if we didn't move in accordance with thy royal schedule, your highness," Orochimaru fired back.

"Could you both shut the hell up?" Jiraiya spat. "You'll get us caught!"

"What the fuck is—" Tsunade began but Orochimaru stopped her.

"You have to understand that this is the man who may have killed or seen who killed Jiraiya-kun's brother; this mission means a lot to him."

Tsunade calmed down a little, understanding how Jiraiya felt about losing his parents. She noticed the sun peaking out over the horizon and said, "We should stop and get some rest; it'll be too difficult trying to maneuver in broad daylight with no forest around for miles."

Jiraiya and Orochimaru nodded their consent and the latter noticed a cave nearby that they could use for shelter until sunset. Orochimaru even volunteered to take the first watch, leaving Jiraiya and Tsunade alone in the cave. Tsunade normally would have protested this, but Jiraiya didn't seem to be in much of perverted mood. At first, the silence was perfect for Tsunade: no lecherous stares or giggles to disrupt her attempts to sleep. But as the night wore on, Tsunade began to feel uncomfortable. She sat up and walked cautiously over to Jiraiya, who was twirling a rusty kunai in his hands.

"D-Do you want to talk?" Tsunade asked. "I'm not used to you being this down; your usually the life of our squad. I don't like seeing you like this."

"This man killed Naiya!" exploded Jiraiya. "Naiya was the kindest soul I had ever encountered! He was a leader, a friend, a brother, a husband, a father! Do you know how hard this has been for me? Naiya was the only person who could have stopped Hanzo from murdering my clan! All that's left is Minato-kun and I! I should have been there to stop him!

* * *

_Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru materialized in the ravaged courtyard of the Namikaze estate. The whole compound was utterly destroyed, and rubble and mutilated bodies of Jiraiya's clansmen littered the land._

"_Naiya!" roared the white-haired ninja as he used his Doton chakras to fling piles of debris away, hoping to find his brother alive._

"_Jiraiya, calm down!" shouted Orochimaru!_

_Jiraiya spun around and punched Orochimaru in his face with all of his might. "Don't fucking tell me to calm down!" he spat. "Your clan is all fine and dandy; mine is gone!"_

_The snake-nin rubbed his face before saying, "I understand that your upset but we should—"_

"_You don't understand shit! Maybe I should kill everyone you ever fucking loved and then you'll understand how I fucking feel![__**1**__]"_

"_Jiraiya, be quiet!" Tsunade shouted. "I hear someone…crying."_

_The ninja settled down and, sure enough, he heard sobs. They raced toward the sound and found a six-year-old Minato crying over the prone body of a man. Said man had short, spiky, platinum-blonde hair; blue eyes; and tan skan. His ninja uniform was drenched in blood. From what Tsunade could tell, he had received a major injury to his chest from a sharp object. _

_Jiraiya knelt beside Minato and murmured, "Naiya-sama."_

"_Ji…rai…ya…" Naiya sputtered, coughing up blood._

"_Naiya, save your energy!" scolded Jiraiya. "Tsunade-hime is here; she'll save you."_

"_I'm…too far…gone," the older brother muttered. "Take…care…of…Mi…na…to…"_

_Jiraiya couldn't hold back the tears that now fell on Naiya's face. "Please! Don't talk like that!" shouted Minato as he began crying harder. "Daddy, I need you."_

_The white-haired Namikaze's sorrow was replaced with burning anger as he asked, "Please Naiya. Tell me who did this and I'll kill him and everyone he ever loved. Just tell me who!"_

"San…shouuo…no…Han…zo…and…_"_

_Naiya stopped abruptly. Jiraiya could practically feel his life slipping from his injured body. Minato realized as his father's eyes became glasy that he was gone. With a pained scream, Minato's anger set the wind ablaze. His iris had been replaced by spirals. Jiraiya just grabbed the boy and let him cry into his chest._

* * *

"After that day, Minato gave up his childhood dream of being a painter. He enrolled in the Ninja Academy so he could become strong enough to face Hanzo. We both promised each other that one of us would kill that bastard and find out who helped him," whispered Jiraiya as he wiped a tear from his face.

Tsunade had cried with him as she held him close to her. Acting on a sudden impulse in her heart, the blonde kissed her teammate [_**2**_]. As they pulled away from each other, a green ball rolled into the cave. The two couldn't react in time as green smoke filled the cave, knocking them out. Five Ame-nin, (one of whom was carrying a knocked-out Orochimaru), entered the cave and preceded to tie up them up.

* * *

Rain splashed on Jiraiya's head and woke him up. He groaned groggily and thought to himself, '_Where the hell am I?_' He realized he was hanging from the top of a tall building overlooking an urban city. His hands were bound by metal chains and handcuffs. To his right was Orochimaru; to his left was Tsunade. Orochimaru was completely wrapped in chains, preventing him from using his snake jutsus to escape. Tsunade's limbs were chained in a spread eagle position, preventing her from using her super strength to break her chains.

"About time you woke your ass up," Orochimaru quipped as Jiraiya immediately began trying to shake himself loose from the chains.

"We tried that already, Jiraiya," said Tsunade. "These chains are made with a reinforced titanium polymer; I couldn't break out of this, even with my super strength."

"Thankfully, I have a jutsu for just this situation," replied Jiraiya as he began to focus. "You know how I've been experimenting with the possibilities of manipulating chakra natures into something else? Like turning water into mist, or lightning into nuclear energy?"

"Yeah, your ideas actually weren't all that…retarded," remarked Orochimaru. "But I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"Well, I discovered that in all metals are trace amounts of earth, and if you have Doton chakras, you can manipulate metal!"

Tsunade smiled and responded, "That's ingenious! You're going to, like, rust the chains or something, right? How long have you had this jutsu?"

Jiraiya sent his chakra into his restraints as he answered, "I never tried this before. I'm basically winging it here."

Orochimaru groaned before saying, "We're fucked!"

After a few moments of concentrating, however, Jiraiya's chains cracked. The Namikaze grabbed the hook his chain was attached to before breaking them and freeing himself. Five minutes later, his comrades were free, and they sat on the roof of the building.

"That took a lot of chakra out of me," panted Jiraiya. He reached into one of his flak jacket pockets and pulled out a soldier pill.

"Jiraiya, I've been thinking and I believe this building is something like the Hokage Tower; this might be where Hanzo runs Amegakure no Sato!" observed Tsunade

"I figured that out too," Jiraiya said darkly. "You guys might want to hold on to something; I'm bringing this whole building down!"

Orochimaru's face was one of pure terror. Jiraiya activated his Kaiten Me, and the snake-nin shouted, "Dumbass, wait!"

Unfortunately, Jiraiya blasted off into the air. Seconds later, he smashed headfirst into the center of the building. The sheer velocity of his collision began to rip the building apart as he drew ever closer to the bottom. Orochimaru and Tsunade gracefully used the debris to land on the roof of a smaller building nearby. They watched with reverent awe as the entire building collapsed.

"Did you know he could do that?" Tsunade shouted. Jiraiya materialized on the street below, and rolled to absorb the impact of his fall. "How the hell did you survive that?"

The Namikaze shook the cobwebs out before answering, "I used Hari Jizo to make my hair as hard as titanium and used it as a helmet."

"Most impressive, Namikaze Jiraiya."

The ninja looked up to see a massive, monster of a man. His face was obscured by a breath mask, but from what they could see, he had pale skin, a face marred by a jagged scar on his cheek, and long blonde hair. He wore a black body suit and a grey cloak. What was most unsettling about this man was not his rippling muscles, but his eyes. They were black with yellow irises.

"I take it your Sanshouuo no Hanzo?" Jiraiya asked, killing intent spilling with each word.

"That I am," he answered. "Why have you invaded my country? I told the Kages that my only desire is to re-assimilate Kawa into Ame, to make things as they should be [_**3**_]. Once that is done, Ame no Kuni will remain out of the war."

"Don't act like you're innocent!" roared Jiraiya. "You murdered my brother!"

Hanzo's face was filled with confusion as he asked, "Naiya-sama? I never—"

"Shut up, you fucking liar!" Jiraiya shouted as he smashed his fists into the earth. The resulting shockwave toppled buildings and forced the large nuke-nin into the air. Turning to his comrades, Jiraiya shouted, "Hanzo is mine! Stay out of this!" He then chased after Hanzo.

"Jiraiya-kun, wait!" shouted Tsunade. She and Orochimaru tried to follow after him, but Hanzo's bodyguards leapt in the way.

"You guys aren't going anywhere!" they shouted as they drew their umbrellas.

"Bring it on! What are you gonna do with those?" taunted Tsunade.

The ninja tossed their apparatuses into the air, and Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock. He grabbed Tsunade's hand, and dragged her toward a nearby house. "We have to move now!"

"But wh—"

Thousands of needles rained from the umbrellas, intent on skewering the Konoha-nin. They just barely made it inside of the house, but even the wood planks couldn't stop some of the needles from passing through.

* * *

Hanzo roughly landed in a reservoir of water. He quickly pulled himself up to the water's surface as Jiraiya landed on the water as well.

"I don't know what has come over you boy," Hanzo remarked. "But I will correct it now." The nuke-nin removed his cloak, revealing his prized sword, the Sanshouuotan (_Salamander's Tongue_)[_**4**_]. The hilt of the blade was a regular size, but the blade was triangular and as wide and long as Hanzo's torso in shape. The blade appeared to be made out of some kind of power, orange, metallic alloy.

"Am I supposed to be scared?" asked Jiraiya smugly.

"You should be!" roared the nuke-nin as he lunged at Jiraiya.

The Konoha-nin expertly lept over Hanzo and kicked him in the back of his head. Hanzo quickly spun on his heels and swung his blade at Jiraiya's neck. Jiraiya barely managed to leap back in time. Blood gushed out of the thin wound Hanzo had left on him.

"How the hell did you do that?" shouted Jiraiya as he touched the gash. "My Kaiten should have gotten me out of the way in time!"

"The Sanshouuotan has the ability to slow down time for sixty seconds," explained Hanzo as he twirled the massive blade like it was nothing. "In short, I'm moving just as fast as you are now!"

Jiraiya quickly strung together some hand seals before shouting, "Katon: Dai Endan (_Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet_)!"

A massive ball of fire shot from the Konoha-nin's mouth and incinerated Hanzo. Or, so the Ero-sennin thought. The flames shrunk and revealed Hanzo, perfectly unscathed. His chakras spiked massively, much to Jiraiya's chagrin.

"You didn't really think you would kill a salamander with fire, did you [_**5**_]?" Hanzo chuckled darkly.

* * *

Hanzo's bodyguards slowly approached the skewered house, kunai and swords drawn. "Be sharp men! Konoha-nin are exceptionally crafty!" shouted the leader.

At that moment, a massive snake burst from the house and swallowed half of the men. The rest attempt to retreat, but Tsunade forced herself out of the marsh earth and began to throw super-powered punches, kicks, and chops.

The leader had engaged Orochimaru in a high-speed sword fight, but quickly found himself outclassed and outmaneuvered. Orochimaru deftly cut the man's limbs off before ending his life.

"Well, that was easy!" Orochimaru said as he and Tsunade turned around to help Jiraiya…and were greeted by a massive mob of Ame-nin.

"YOU JUST HAD TO SAY IT WAS EASY!" roared Tsunade. A bead of sweat rolled down Orochimaru's face as he mentally ordered his snake to come back to him.

* * *

Jiraiya barely managed to dodge Hanzo's slash and kick the bigger man away. He leapt into the air and tried to string together a series of hand seals, but Hanzo wouldn't allow him the luxury. "Katon: Karyu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Missile)!"

Hanzo released a stream of white hot flames that quickly engulfed the Konoha-nin. He wasn't surprised at all to see a rather large, orange frog leap out of the small inferno he had created. It opened its mouth and Jiraiya pulled himself out, covered in the amphibian's saliva.

Hanzo chuckled to himself as he thought, '_By saving yourself from my first attack, you've made yourself susceptible to my second one!_'

The Nuke-nin flung his massive sword at Jiraiya, hoping to impale him. The Konoha-nin could only watch in terror as he tried to move, but the frog's thick saliva weighed him down tremendously.

"I refuse to die here!" roared Jiraiya as the blade was less then seconds away. Suddenly, a massive gate shot out of the water. The gate was shaped like the face of an oni. It blocked the blade just in the nick of time, causing to bounce off and fall harmlessly toward the reservoir. Hanzo raced after it, but Tsunade grabbed his hair, spun him around, and slammed him into the wall. The Sanshouuotan broke the surface of the waves and sunk to the murky depths below.

Hanzo pried himself out of the wall with great anger and roared, "You fools! Do you know what you've just done?"

Jiraiya rolled off of his summon and went under the water, cleaning the gooey substance off of him and freeing up his mobility. He pulled himself out, and replied smugly, "We just removed the only way you can keep up with—"

A bloodcurdling screech deafened the four ninja. A massive beast leapt out of the reservoir and leapt over the Rashomon gate and in the blink of an eye, had killed Jiraiya's summon. The beast's body was long and sleek, its skin a reddish-orange like fire; blak spikes adorned its back; and its eyes were identical to Hanzo's.

The beast inhaled as much air as it could before firing a massive ball of fire twice its own size at the village. Hanzo cursed and turned to Jiraiya, saying, "He's attacking the village! You're the only person fast enough to get me to that fireball so I can save my people!"

Jiraiya grabbed Hanzo's arm and shouted, "Let's go!"

The two vanished appeared on a nearby roof in front of the fireball. "If I fail, promise me you'll kill this beast and keep the people of my land safe," Hanzo asked.

Jiraiya hesitated before saying, "I promise."

Hanzo leapt off of the roof, into the center of the fireball. The massive inferno stopped moving as Hanzo began absorbed the fire. Slowly but surely, the flames shrunk, revealing the muscular nuke-nin, whose chakras were spiking to dangerous levels. He tried to focus on the salamander, hoping to unleash all of his extra energy on the beast, but the pain was too great. He dropped to his knees in pain as the salamander leapt towards them, intent and devouring the puny mortals who dared to oppose him.

A massive purple snake (Manda) wrapped around him, restricting his movements. Orochimaru and Tsunade raced toward the two. "What the hell is this thing?" Jiraiya shouted as he grabbed Hanzo but his collar.

"It is known as Hebi no Kaji (_Serpent of the Fire_). It is from the salamander yokai that my clan learned how to absorb heat energy, but they were dangerous. They constantly absorbed heat, killing animals, humans, and other demons alike.

"We managed to send most of them back to the Makai, killing the ones that were too strong for us to return. But this monstrosity wasn't disposed of properly; a foolish boy tried to protect it by hiding it near the hot springs. With all of the heat there, it grew to be twice as large as normal salamander, but craved more heat. It went underground, to the magma pools and absorbed the heat there as well, becoming the monster you see before you. It was absorbing heat fast, causing the temperature to drop and freezing us to death." The Konoha-nin had noticed that they felt cold and could see their breath after Hanzo had said this, even though it was midsummer.

"My grandfather used the Sanshouuotan to seal the Hebi no Kaji in the reservoir. He was a master of Hyouton and Fuuinjutsu and combined the two to keep it frozen. So long as the Sanshouuotan, which emits a constant heat source, doesn't become submerged in the reservoir, it won't have any heat to awaken it."

Hanzo and Jiraiya's eyes connected, and for the first time since he arrived in Ame, the white-haired ninja had doubts. Before he could ponder on these feelings more, the Hebi no Kaji roared as its body turned into boiling water as it slipped out of Manda's constriction and reformed its body. "Orochimaru, we gotta stop this thing! Tsunade-hime, see if you can get rid of the extra chakras in Hanzo! We're gonna need all the help we can get," shouted Jiraiya as he summoned Gamabunta. "No Katon jutsu!"

Orochimaru nodded as he sent Manda in to grapple with the salamander yokai again. While the demon was distracted, the snake-nin made several quick hand seals before shouting, "Sen'eijashu (_Hidden Shadow Snake Hands_)!"

Hundreds of snakes shot out of Orochimaru's sleeves, fangs dripping with deadly toxins. They didn't get very far before dropping to the ground, shivering. Orochimaru had noticed by then that Manda was moving sluggishly as the Hebi no Kaji slashed him, cutting him deeply.

"Suiton: Teppodama (Water Release: Gunshot)!"

Gamabunta used the distraction to blast the salamander with a massive orb of water. The demon screech in pain as the water touched him. Jiraiya picked up on this quickly and shouted to Tsunade, "Tsunade-hime! Did release Hanzo's excess chakras?"

"No, I can't!" replied the Senju princess. "He has to discharge it himself or he'll die!"

"What about a transfer?" asked Jiraiya as he materialized next to her, never keeping his eyes off of the salamander that was being continually blasted with water. "Could you transfer Hanzo's chakras into me?"

Tsunade was confused, unsure of what Jiraiya had up his sleeve. "Yeah, I could do that. Why?"

"Because if I get Hanzo's chakras, I'll have power over the waters!" remarked Jiraiya. "And with my Chakra no Hensei, I can kill this thing for good!" Jiraiya noticed that the Teppodamas that Gamabunta was firing were beginning to shrink in size. "Orochimaru! Keep him busy until Tsunade finishes the transfusion!"

"Hai!" shouted Orochimaru as he made a hand seal. He shouted, "Doton: Mekakoudosu-tsu (_Earth Release: Earthen Mech Suit_)[_**6**_]!"

The earth around Orochimaru shot up and formed a massive, rocky ogre. Orochimaru attached chakra tethers to his creation, and used them to bash the salamander's skull in. The demon fought back though, releasing a white hot stream of fire at the ogre. Orochimaru moved the ogre out of the way, but the fire incinerated its left arm, causing it to melt.

Orochimaru cursed under his breath before making his rock ogre leap forward and grab the Hebi no Kaji's mouth, preventing it from releasing anymore fire. The salamander just dissolved into water, flowed away, and reformed itself. It released a powerful stream once again, this time engulfing Orochimaru and his Mekakoudosu-tsu.

Just then, Gamabunta impaled the Hebi no Kaji with his hunting knife, pinning it to the earth. However, it proved ineffective, as the salamander just repeated its water dissolution trick. This time, it slammed its thick tail into Gamabunta's head, effectively knocking him out. The Hebi no Kaji prepared to bite a massive chunk of the toad's flesh like he did to his clansmen, but was stopped by a tendril of water, for lack of a better word, bitch-slapping him.

The yokai spun around to see Jiraiya standing in the center of the reservoir. "Come and get me!" roared Jiraiya as he spat a massive stream of fire into the air.

This attracted the Hebi no Kaji's attention, and the demon leapt at the ball of fire. Jiraiya made a quick hand seal and leaping off of the reservoir before shouting, "Suiton: Suishi no Jutsu (_Water Release: Water Drowning Technique_)!"

All of the water in the reservoir shot up, hitting the salamander and causing it to screech in pain so loud that glass shattered. "Now, Tsunade!" shouted Jiraiya as he struggled to hold up all the water.

Tsunade leapt into the now empty reservoir and picked up the Sanshouuotan. She released a primal war cry before chucking the orange metallic blade at the demon. The Hail Mary throw worked; the blade easily passed straight through the demon's chest. Orochimaru scooped Tsunade up and got her out of the reservoir as Jiraiya used up the last of Hanzo's chakra, causing the water to fall back into place with a mighty splash. Jiraiya slacked as he felt the demon's life escape from him. He had no more chakra left to fight Hanzo (although the later wasn't in a position to fight either). Sleep overtook him, leading him into a sense of still turmoil.

* * *

Jiraiya shot up, and realized one of two things. The soft pelting of the rain on the windowsill and the industrial background let him know they were still in Ame no Kuni. The fact that he was in a luxurious chamber instead of hanging from a tower a thousand feet in air let him know he wasn't a prisoner.

"Enjoy your rest, Jiraiya-sama?"

Hanzo was standing in the doorway, the rare smile on his face. "What—why aren't you trying to kill me?" asked the befuddled Konoha-nin.

"I tried to tell you before that I had nothing to do with what happened to your clan," answered Hanzo as he sat on the bed Jiraiya rested in. "I came across some information and relayed it to your brother, who raced back to Konoha to save your family, albeit too late. I owed Naiya-sama a great deal; if it wasn't for him, I would have lost my village in the Ame Civil War."

"So if you didn't kill my clan, who did?"

Hanzo sighed before saying, "His name is Tobi, clan name unknown, origin unknown, last known base of operations here in Ame no Kuni. Up until three years ago, he hasn't done anything too serious: a few robberies, a couple of big scams, and a few accounts of small-scale espionage, but it change with your clan.

"Apparently, he was after the Akatsuki scroll, something I've never even heard of. Do you know what that is?"

Jiraiya cursed himself for being so stupid; after the massacre, he never even thought to check the hidden bunker underneath the compound. "The Akatsuki scroll was an artifact my clan has protected since the fall of the Akatsuki organization. Sealed within it are ten rings, two necklaces, and a crown that belonged to the original members of Akatsuki. They have to be worth trillions of Ryou now; they were made out of a special gemstone that was created from chakra. The jutsu became lost with time, making them one of a kind," explained Jiraiya.

Hanzo shook his head, saying, "I fear there is something far more sinister at hand. If this Tobi only cared about these artifacts for their monetary wealth, he would try to stealthily take them, not fight one of the most powerful clans in the ninja world."

"Trying to sneak in the Namikaze compound is impossible," countered Jiraiya. "He would have been killed in seconds. What scares me is that he killed them all by himself. To be able to kill a Namikaze means that you have to be as fast as us, as I'm sure you discovered."

Hanzo held his hand out to Jiraiya and said, "I swear on the good name of the Hanzo Clan I will help you to find this Tobi and exact your revenge upon him. This I promise."

Jiraiya smiled and clasped hands with the older ninja. "Now put those clothes on," commanded Hanzo, pointing to a set of robes on a nearby table.

Jiraiya got up and picked up what would become his trademark outfit and quipped, "This outfit sucks!"

* * *

"And it is with great honor that I give these three ninja from Konohagakure no Sato the highest honor any foreign dignitary can be given in Ame no Kuni, the title of Sannin, for their bravery and effortless work in exterminating the Hebi no Kaji," shouted Hanzo as he walked to Orochimaru, Sanshouuotan drawn.

"First, to Toppyoushimonai Orochimaru, I dub thee Hebi no Howaido, for your mastery of the serpents." Hanzo lightly tapped the blade on both of the pale man's shoulders twice.

"Next, to Senju Tsunade, I dub thee Namekuji-hime, for your mastery of the demon slugs that have populated our lands. You not only struck the killing blow on the Hebi no Kaji, but helped to make peace with the slugs in the short time you've been here." Hanzo tapped her shoulders as well.

"And last but not least, Namikaze Jiraiya, I dub thee Gama-sennin, and Kira-sanshouuo (Salamander Killer). If it wasn't for your ingenious planning and jutsu, we would all be dead. Our village is in great debt to you and as a result, we will pledge our allegiance to Konoha and Hi no Kuni for the remainder of my time as the Amekage."

"Allow me one request, Amekage-sama," pleaded Jiraiya, much to Hanzo's shock. "Allow me to stay in Amegakure and teach the able-bodied the ninja arts; if you're going to align yourselves with us, you must be better prepared for any threat that comes your way."

"Jiraiya, are you sure this is wise?" whispered Orochimaru.

"I can help Hanzo-sama and continue the hunt for the man who killed my family," answered Jiraiya. "I have to do this, for me and Minato. Tell Hiruzen-sensei I'll be back in the village in a year if my leads here lead to nothing."

'_I promise you, Naiya, I will avenge you!_'

* * *

Inspiration for _Jiraiya Gaiden_: I had originally planned for this to be a chapter in Rosuto, explaining Jiraiya's history and how he met Nagato. But Kishimoto beat me to it. So I decided to take it a step backward and write about the infamous battle between the Sanin and Hanzo. I had mentioned very early on in one of my comments that Jiraiya's brother had been killed in what was known as the Namikaze Massacre. I had originally intended for Hanzo to be behind it, but changed it to Madara, as it seemed more fitting for our favorite psychotic Uchiha (er, well the old-ass one).

* * *

1- Eerily familiar…

2- Just to be clear, this story takes place about eight years before Tsunade meets Dan.

3- History Lesson!: Ame no Kuni was once a very big country. During the First Great Ninja War, Tori and Kawa aided Kawarimi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni secretly, against the capital city's wishes. In return for their financial aid, the two larger nations were to free them from the oppressive rule of the Rain Lord. The end result was a three-way bloodbath between Suna, Kumo, and Ame samurai. This battle, known as the Di no Amechi (_Day of the Bloody Rain_), left Ame brankruot and in a state of chaos for nearly a century. The battle ended when a Suna-nin killed the Daimyo, who was Hanzo's grandfather.

4- The Sanshouuotan's origins are unknown. While the blade has been in Hanzo's clan for a long time, no one knows where it came from. Because of its metallic, futuristic design, some people believe that the blade came from the future.

5- Hanzo's Kekkei Genkei: It allows him and his clan to absorb fire or heat and convert it into raw chakra. Their bloodline is characterized by their abnormal eyes, which are usually black with yellow or white irises. These special eyes help them find heat sources and also use a Genjutsu to paralyze anyone who looks at them for too long with visions of Hell.

6- Doton: Mekakoudosu-tsu (_Earth Release: Earthen Mech Suit_): The user creates a battle suit made of rocks. The size of the suit depends on how much earth is around and how much chakra the user possesses. This jutsu requires a tremendous amount of chakra, making it only useful for quick assaults.


End file.
